


To Better Days

by theGirlwithtoomanyOTPs



Category: Naruto
Genre: F/M, Multi, Time Travel, Will add more tags as I go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-05-05
Updated: 2015-07-27
Packaged: 2018-03-29 03:00:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3879658
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theGirlwithtoomanyOTPs/pseuds/theGirlwithtoomanyOTPs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Another feeble attempt at something fundamentally not allowed and the absolute chaos it ensues</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Sarada

**Author's Note:**

> _Don't even talk to me about Chapter 701, hear me? JUST DON'T._

Sarada crossed her arms and stared blankly at the Nandaime's son.

"No."

Boruto huffed, unimpressed by her. There was only so much he can do without help at his age. It was a pain having to ask _her_ since she was always refusing to join him on his adventures that he'd learn to stop asking a long time ago.

"It'll be fun, y'know! Plus it'll be easy to go back!"

"Trouble means fun for you," she snorted gently. "You'll get me in trouble. And I'm not having the _Seventh_ be disappointed with me for letting his son ruin  _time-space continuum_."

Boruto frowned openly at her and stared at the scroll in his hand.

"C'mon, Uchiha," he groaned. "It's just _chakra_ you and I have more to spare! Pop says so!"

"We don't use our chakra for tomfoolery!" Sarada sighed exasperatedly, rolling her eyes. She had associated the feeling of wanting to punch the hell out of someone with Uzumaki Boruto. "Shino-sensei would kill you."

It was Boruto's turn to cross his arms. "Like Shino-sensei could lay a hand on me!"

"Go ask someone else, Boruto," she told him in finality, sure that no one would even hear him out. The chakra required was tumultuos for their age and maybe Chouchou would have it in her but the price was death. Boruto could probably do it alone with his Uzumaki lineage but then again he'd still probably drop for days in exhaustion. He had better chances surviving if Sarada was with him.

Despite not truly liking Sarada, he knew the girl was as good as an equal.

But she's always been a goody two shoes and he'd probably have to move the hokage monument just to make her consider.

"I just wanted to see what my Pop was like years ago," he muttered to himself resignedly. He'd already wasted a whole day trying to convince her. He might as well give up. Dinner's almost ready anyway and his mom's dang scary when he doesn't come home on time.

Sarada's face didn't change as he walked away. "Well, whatever... See ya tomorrow, Four Eyes!"

He could find something else from the Hokage's library of scrolls for sure. They wouldn't be as cool but maybe he'll find something better _dattebasa_.

Sarada watched him go for a moment and turned towards her own home.

The new house was almost just like the old one Mama accidentally tore down the other day.

Once Mama woke up, she'd enlisted some old friends' help. It took less than a day and thankfully, the bank didn't seem to have noticed anything odd about the new kitchen and bathrooms. Mama said they'd _redecorated_. The man from the bank who came by because of some _rumor_ that the house had been leveled down nodded his approval and said that maybe, in a year's time, they could have the house reassessed. Mama seemed chipper after that.

When Sarada got home, the big house was empty once more. In the kitchen, she found her dinner and a note stuck on the fridge.

_Be back tomorrow night, love. I'll be in the hospital if you need me. Breakfast is on the fridge. Money for lunch is in your room. I'll see you, Sara-chan! I love you, Sarada. - Mama_

Sarada crumpled the note but tucked the it in her pocket.

She reheated dinner herself since they haven't been able to buy a new microwave; the old one destroyed from the other day.

She brought dinner to bed and ate on her study table.

The note had been thrown on top of the pile of Mama's other notes in a box under her bed. The cut picture of the girl in glasses underneath all Mama's letters.

She had the habit of looking through them whenever lonely or mad. She didn't know what she felt right now. Just that she didn't want to see them.

She finished dinner, washed the dishes and got ready for bed.

She set down her glasses and turned off the lights.

Despite the long day in the Academy and Sarada having to endure Boruto all day, she couldn't close her eyes to sleep.

She lay on her back and stared at the shadows in the ceiling caused by the light from the streets.

She stayed quiet and awake for a long time.

* * *

 Sarada woke up with barely enough time to make it before first bell.

She also had to re-do her assignment in five minutes as she left the one she finished before class even ended yesterday at home in her haste.

During lunch, Sarada made the wrong decision to buy _natto_.

She left Chou midway and went to the range without another word.

She found Shikadai napping under a tree while Mitsuki and Boruto chatted and ate their home cooked meals, laughing about the underclassmen's first attempts with their _henge_.

Boruto had been a prodigy. He'd made fast progress and was able to master the _kage bunshin_ easily. He was proficient in taijutsu as well like his mother and father. (They had their own record at 34-34.) But at least he wasn't as boastful as others would think. He was merely having a laugh because it reminded him of _his_ first attempts.

If Mama's stories were true, it was a good thing the Seventh ended up with Hinata- _obasan_. She was probably the reason why despite his disrespectful and bratty attitude towards his father, Boruto showed signs of being well-mannered and polite, but not to the point of being formal like his mother. That was probably the Seventh in him.

Mitsuki waved as she approached. "Hi, Sara-shan!"

Sarada gave the boy a polite nod. Mitsuki swallowed his sandwich and smiled at her.

"How're you?"

"I'm well."

Boruto looked up and raised a brow at her. "I'm not talking to you right now, Uchiha. Go away."

Sarada took a deep breath and met his eyes.

"I'll do it," Sarada told him with a stern face.

Boruto's face made a familiar huge impish grin.


	2. Boruto

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boruto thinks this is exciting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait. But I'm happy with such responses about this story! Thank you all!
> 
> As you'll see, the Chapters will be titled based on whose POV will be most used in each Chapter :)

When Boruto started _borrowing_ scrolls from the Hokage's personal (and **_strictly_** forbidden) library, he knew he ought to be careful. (On not being caught, of course.)

Boruto learned more from there than he would from anyone else because, let’s face it, even his father wouldn’t teach him _rasengan_ until he became an Academy graduate.

He'd learned a couple of techniques there and luckily found out that he could do most of what he found.

He didn't actually have a method of picking. He just went in, grabbed for the one he could reach easily, spent the next few days learning and copying on his own set of scrolls and returning it as soon as possible.

His favorites were the Yondaime's own scrolls. Because seriously, his grandfather was kickass! To be called a prodigy like him lifted his spirits.

Also, he loved the challenge. They were really hard to learn and dealt more with precise chakra and his grandfather’s fighting style revolved around speed and quickly taking down an enemy, so he often excluded traditional time-consuming methods such as hand seals. He hasn’t gotten around to that level, but he was pretty damn fast.

Practicing the jutsu was harder than the actual stea--- er, _borrowing_. His mother never let him out past seven without any valid reason and kept awake as late as eleven or twelve to wait for his father.

And having a hokage as a father wasn't as cool as everyone thought. (Other than it took a lot of _work_ to spend time with him like he had before getting the job) Pranking alone was not for the faint hearted. Did anyone really and truly know how hard it is to leave his mother's all-seeing eyes? Did anyone really and truly know how hard it is not to be caught by a father who could multiply himself endlessly? The man didn't even need to use his _sennin_ mode to find him. Every day was a new challenge for Boruto. Especially if he wanted to have time with his father.

Maybe it was petty and childish, but he missed Naruto. Pop used to always have the time for him. Take him out, buy him ramen, train him and tell him ridiculous stories of his youth.

Naruto had taken him aside before he'd gotten the job and told him about how it would affect their relationship. But he was six years old and what does a six year old actually know about being _'a big boy'_ other than caring for a younger sister? He doubted that 'big boys' fared well with no guidance from their fathers.

A subconscious part of Boruto knew that his parents were indulging him with his pranks. He wouldn't stop and them trying to catch him and was basically the only way he could spend time with them. Hinata was busy. Naruto was even busier.

The least they could do was prolong the chase. That's probably why Pop didn't use his _sennin_ mode and why Mom would rarely use Byakuugan and let Pop do most of the chasing himself or er, at least, with a clone.

He was still a kid, though and Boruto wanted, no, _needed_ , more.

So when he found the scroll, he wanted to try it at once.

It had been a pain trying to translate. It had been a pain trying to figure out the whole thing. And it had been a pain knowing he needed help.

The first person he'd had to, wanted to and needed to ask had been the Uchiha girl. But Uchiha Sarada was also the last.

She was such a killjoy, really!

He'd already given up on her but then she came to him and well, here they are, preparing for the jutsu that would bring them back through time.

It was a simple one, actually. With lengthy hand seals and required a load of chakra. It had about more than a hundred seals, immediately beating _Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu_ 's 44 hand seals which Boruto had never even tried before. If this goes to success, he'd definitely ask Kakashi- _ojiisama_ to teach him.

It would be dangerous, for sure. The Nandaime had kept them stashed for a reason. Which made it more appealing to the eldest Uzumaki child.

He grinned every now and then, excited at the prospect of seeing his parents and of making his mark to stand out in his father's eyes.

He looked over at Sarada, who was reading the scroll and murmuring under her breath.

He doesn't know why she suddenly said yes but he was thankful.

Sarada looked up to him and blinked. "What?"

Boruto just smiled cockily and grinned. "I'm ready!"

Her lips set to a grim line and she looked at him dubiously. "You said we could go back easily. How?"

Boruto made a pout and narrowed his eyes. "It's in the scroll! I'll show you later."

"Show me now."

"Let's just do this, Four Eyes," he whined. "The longer we stay here, the sooner someone will catch us!"

It wasn't just his Pop watching over him, after all. Hyuuga men were also supposed to be watching him every minute of his life. He'd been hell bent on losing them every day and it was a pain to keep all those bunshin running around just to confuse them, giving him enough time to do whatever prank he was up to at the moment.

If his mother ever got wind of what he was up to now, he would be grounded until he was _fifty_.

Sarada glared at him. “I’m not doing this if you’re not—“

She wouldn’t stop all the blabbering now.

Boruto rolled his eyes and took a deep breath. "Tch. You're so annoying 'ttebasa! Just trust me!"

Before Sarada could berate him for ignoring her concerns for their well-being, he was flicking through the first hand seals.

Sarada would have hit him if she could.

He was flying through the hand seals a mile a minute and if she got him distracted by one bit, they’d never have the chance again.

Boruto grinned when she placed her palm on the middle of his back, letting her chakra flow down to him, the way she saw and felt how her Mama did it when she healed her own cuts and bruises. There were times that she had been an excited kid, going to work with her mother, proud of having such a talented mother. But Sarada grew up.

She knew she was getting in the way and realized Sakura brought her along because there wasn't anybody to care for her. It wasn't exactly going to be some _bonding time_ if she had spinal injuries to operate on. And besides, the medic-nin weren't the greatest. She could hear them gossip about her behind curtains or clipboards or slender hands all the time. So Sarada put her foot down on her own. No more going to the hospital. She could learn to take care of herself. She knew Sakura had at least been half-relieved.

“… _ne, tori, inu, uma, i, u, hitsuji, ushi, saru, mi, tori, i, inu, tora…”_

The list of the hand seals was in Sarada’s mind as she watched Boruto breeze through them. She closed her eyes and focused on the building chakra in Boruto’s gut, trying to fuse hers with his without an explosion happening. It was hard to harmonize, after all, especially if she was aiding a jutsu that needed huge chakra reserves that would only come by to someone from the Uzumaki lineage. Boruto was still too young to be able to use that stored chakra, so he needed Sarada’s help or else he might kill himself.

Approaching the last few seals with hearts beating erratically, both young shinobi tensed in anticipation. Boruto, excited and Sarada, half-afraid.

Then a scream resounded throughout the forest and the two looked up with Boruto almost missing a beat of three seals and jarring Sarada’s chakra transference.

A twin of Boruto’s scampered out of the forest, twigs and leaves knotted through his hair. It screamed as it ran towards them.

“What the-?!” Boruto spluttered. “I told you not to come to me within ten miles! How stupid can you get?!”

Sarada would have laughed. _The idiot calling himself stupid?_ She should have brought a video camera.

“I’m sorry,” it replied in panic. “But I’ve run out of places to hide from him!”

He hid behind Sarada, peeking as the clone’s chaser burst out from the bushes.

Boruto groaned. _Him_ again.

Seriously, mom had to stop sending these fools after him.

Boruto smirked, though. It looked like his clone gave the Hyuuga a hard time. Good.

Hyuuga Kuroki had violated a Hyuuga imperative.

He no longer looked like a Hyuuga.

It seemed impossible but Hyuuga are generally always impeccably clean. Even their clothing seemed to repel any kind of imperfection and dirt. It was worse than walking around arrogantly like a giant stick was shoved up in their asses. Sometimes even Boruto had trouble believing he came from _that_ clan. (His room was a perpetual mess and he could barely keep his face clean when he ate. Mother was always scandalized and tried to make Himawari as prim and proper as she was but they were Uzumaki through and through.)

Grandpa Hiashi said that proper men, proper shinobi, must always keep himself clean and organized. That such focus on small things would make sure he would be the same on anything, thus making oneself consistent, effective and efficient. Boruto would wrinkle his nose and try not to drip tea on his newly provided yukata, which he would have to wear whenever they did any traditional nonsense in the Hyuuga compound.

With twigs and leaves and scratches all over him, the Hyuuga stepped forward, watching the clone disappear from behind the Uchiha heiress whose glowing hand was perched on the mischevous boy's back and said boy gulping as his hands flashed through seal after seal. The official and forbidden looking scroll completed the picture.

"Boruto-sama!" He gritted his teeth. "Stop at once!"

"Sorry! Can't hear ya!"

He got into a quick run, Byakugan activated and Boruto cursed inwardly, flashing the last seal; _tatsu_.

"Sarada! _Now!_ "

Sarada bit on her free thumb roughly, blood bursting, red and flowing, splattering unto the scroll.

As one, the two young almost-genin yelled. _"Sōzō ni Okeru Kami no Te: Jikan Hanten Buraindo Supīdo no jutsu!"_

Boruto felt a wrenching sensation in his stomach. The last thing he sees was Kuroki's desperate grab for his jacket but meeting empty air. The last thing he feels was Sarada clutching his back closer to her and hear her gasp out.

He blacked out pretty quickly after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I invented it using Google translate, so someone tell me if it's even right. _Sōzō ni Okeru Kami no Te: Jikan Hanten Buraindo Supīdo no jutsu (Hands of God In Creation: Time Reversal Blind Speed Technique)_ :)
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	3. Sarada

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _This was not the plan, dobe!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the long hiatus :) Work stuff. Hope this makes up for it. Thank you for the support!

When Sarada's consioucness returned, she all but screamed, Boruto right along with her. Being Uchiha, however, made sure she was made of sterner stuff and Sarada instead just swallowed her heart down.

 In comparison to her company's yelp, she thought she was doing pretty good in, well, staying quiet in the face of Death.

They were belly-flopping to their said death at about a hundred miles an hour .

So it was a kinjutsu for a reason.

The idiot flailed his arms about, as if he could gain wings at that.

"Boruto!" She screamed. "Shadow clones!"

Boruto didn't seem to recover his scattered wits but made the seal with both hands anyway.

Three bunshin appeared in a cloud of smoke and they grabbed for each other, screaming themselves hoarse as they tumbled through the air with the two others right behind.

"Boss, what the hell?!" The first one screamed in panic.

Sarada dove through the air and hitched on one of the clones' back and Boruto followed her suit, finally recovering from the initial shock and screaming like a little girl confronted with an insect.

Sarada grabbed for the three clones and they all looked at her in desperation. Surely she had a plan oor something. Twelve was too young to die like some botched bloody splatter on the ground. Sarada's eyes did not disappoint. They showed the fire roaring in her blood. A true Uchiha. "When I say so, flip us!"

She yelled. "We need to land there!"

The original Boruto paled and screamed. "Are you crazy?! Water?! We’ll _die_!"

Sarada ignored him. Call it punishment for his earlier foolishness. He should never ignore her.

"If I can use katon as thrusters when they push us off, we'll have a better chance landing on our feet. I can use it to stabilize our landing, too!" She explained and Boruto groaned.

"Whatever you say,  _Four-Eyes_! But if I die, you're dead!"

Sarada resisted rolling her eyes. They didn't have time for his petty remarks. If he still had it in him to tease her, then they were going to be fine.

He grabbed on her back and she tensed under her touch. She'd avoided coming in close contact to him if it wasn't a spar of some kind. Girls don't really outgrow their awkwardness from close contact at age twelve, after all.

 "Just throw us as hard as you can!"

The three nodded with no actual choice. It’s not like the stupid boy could come up with anything, even with four heads at once.

The ground was coming towards them faster now and Sarada screamed her signal. With a heave and no real balance to throw them on, Boruto's clones barely managed to throw them to the right direction and with any real actual strength.

But it was enough leverage for Sarada to use.

They were falling headfirst now and Boruto couldn't see how that could be any better but with only one seal, Sarada righted their angle in a flurry of flames.

_"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu!"_

The flames roared past pursed lips and forced them upright, feet first now. They were still going too fast and Sarada could only manage three more balls of flames to slow them down before she gave up.

Truthfully, she had never before used the jutsu outside practice. She wanted to perform the technique for her rite of passage. She had hoped to do it in front of the Uchiha patriarch, to be recognized by her father as an heir, or at least, the carrier of their family name. Her mother had said much when she taught Sarada about the jutsu. Back when Sarada asked if she would ever have a brother to carry on the line. Mother had smiled and told her not to worry abou that and instead practice her clan's signature jutsu for her Papa's return.

But now life and death situations kinda called for exemptions.

She knew she could have made more fire, but the chakra transference had taken more out of her than she had previously intended.

Thankfully, Boruto caught that fact and managed to create a link of five bunshin to catch their fall.

A sea of limbs and lakewater plus some physics kept them alive.

* * *

On the second time she rises, Sarada's head was swirling in ache.

 She sat up, cold and wet. The sun was high above them and it looked like the clones had been able to carry them back to shore however must have already disappeared.

 As soon as she gets the chance, she needed to learn to walk on water before stupid time-space jutsus. And maybe her Mother's chakra infused fists wouldn't hurt.

 She lifted her head and looked around. Boruto was on his stomach not far from her. He was moaning. She figured he was gonna be okay. Sometimes he could be such a wimp. Considering all the pranks that he's done throughout the years, this shouldn't have been so hard. Sometimes boys can be so difficult. Well, most of the time. At least Mitsuki was nicer than most boys she knew. Unlike  _this_  piece of work right here...

She sat up gingerly and found that her glasses had been placed right beside her. Blinking wearily, she placed them on and looked around.

They were in an empty meadow. Most likely a training ground outside of Konoha.  _If_  this was still Konoha.

She checked to see if anything was wrong. One thing her mother had taught her was to make sure she was reliable in a team. That meant taking care of herself first before rushing to help anybody else. Other than the burning on her nose and throat and the slight wooziness, she looked physically unharmed.

She crawled towards the Hokage's son and poked his cheek. "Boruto?  _Boruto!_  Are you feeling okay?"

Boruto's face crumpled. And he grunted, sitting up. "I feel like I hadn't eaten for days!"

Of course he would be thinking about the food. She knew what he meant, however. They'd probably depleted their chakra to dangerously low levels. They'd need a few days before they could perform anything major anymore.

He rubbed the back of his head and shook his hair out like some dog from the Inuzuka clan and Sarada scowled as huge droplets hit her right in the face.

"Did we make it? Or will my mom follow us in the afterlife?"

Sarada looked around. It looked like they just fell from the sky to the training ground next to the one they performed the jutsu on. So this would be Training Ground No. 8.

"I don't really know."

"One way to find out, then." He looked over the horizon. The tall skyscrapers, weren't where they should have been and they took it both as a good sign. Hopefully. But Sarada never really believed in luck. Not when she was with the blonde loudmouth.

* * *

Training Ground No. 8 was located north of Konoha so they trudged on slowly south in dry clothes that they'd packed beforehand and choosing to pose as civilians so they could better blend in with less questions asked, towards the Hokage Monument.

 There was not a single building on their way there and Boruto excitedly raced towards the edge of the mountain and peeked down. His face fell ashen and Sarada came up behind him.

 Konoha had significantly fewer buildings. They looked halfway old and there were few nin running across the rooftops. Below them, the Hokage's office as well as the Academy, looked smaller than the ones they saw every day. Children milled about under the hot summer sun. Must have been about noon then.

Further out, they saw that the outskirts of the Village had not even reached the large walls and gates yet. So this must have been how it had been back, er, now.

"Looks like we succeeded," Sarada said, mildly impressed. She was half-sure something went wrong and they'd managed to get themselves lost in some alternate universe. "Looks like you aren't such a screw up after all,  _dobe._ "

Sarada realized that Boruto hadn't said a word yet. And that was beyond unusual.

"What're you looking at anyway, Numbnuts?"

He pointed below and he wailed.

"Shh! Someone might hear us!"

"Count the heads!"

"What heads?" Sarada pushed her glasses to the bridge of her nose and peered down the mountainside. So what if there were less heads? Wasn't that what they had been...

There were three heads.

 _Three_  hokage heads.

* * *

 _“This wasn’t the plan, dobe!”_ Sarada yelled as angrily as she could manage. The panic in her chest was mounting fast. 

 They were in the wrong timeline. They'd gone back too far.

 Boruto clutched at his head, bemoaning their failure as Sarada racked her brain for anything significant during this timeline. All she could remember was the Third Shinobi War and the destruction of Uzushiogakure.

"Shut up, idiot!" Sarada told him off. "This was your fault anyway! Let me think!"

"There's  _nothing_  we can do while we're  _weak!_ " Boruto groaned. "This is your fault! If you hadn't gone yapping like some old hag---"

"Who are you calling a hag you juvenile delinquent?!"

"What are you doing here?" A voice called to them. "You shouldn't be here!"

_Fudge!_

Sarada looked up and her brows furrowed.

The girl looked familiar.

She had a round face which was framed by her red hair. Somehow, it reminded Sarada of a tomato. She wore a short-sleeved, tan-colored kimono-like blouse with a dark embroidered border that was held close by a black obi. She had a dark skirt and stockings that stopped at her thighs. A forehead protector shone on her forehead.

"I said what are you two doing here?" She repeated. "Civilians aren't allowed here."

From her periphery, Sarada saw Boruto's jaw slacken and she backed off. Does he know her?

"Sorry! We just wanted to see the view from up here!"

"Well, you aren't allowed here without supervision!"

Sarada's brows raised. "Why are  _you_  here without supervision, then?"

A vein pulsed at the girl's temple. "I'm a shinobi! I'm different!"

"Kushina!" Someone called from below. "I'm sorry I'm late! Sensei was extra strict with our training and..."

A boy around the girl's age came running to a halt at the sight of them. He had bright, blue eyes and spiky, blond hair with jaw-length bangs framing either side of his face. He wore a tracksuit with stripes on the sleeves, a mesh under-armour, a pair of black pants, and shinobi sandals.

Sarada gaped in suprise. No wonder the girl looked familiar. This was the Yondaime Hokage and his future wife! B-Boruto's own  _grandparents!_

Sarada could feel warmth creeping on her face at the sight of the Fourth looking at her. He was quite handsome. And it looked like she wasn't the only one affected by the Yondaime's presence.

Uzumaki Kushina was blushing and her face betrayed somehow a rabbit getting caught and some annoyance.

"New friends of yours?" The future Yondaime asked as he came up next to Kushina.

"They're not my friends! They're unsupervised civilians!" She stepped a few feet away from Namikaze Minato and crossed her arms.

"Hm?" Minato looked at them and back to Kushina and scratched his cheek with a finger.

"I was just about to escort them down," Kushina informed him with a haughty look on her face. However, the blush had yet to fade there and Sarada was suspicious.

She took Boruto's wrist and tugged him upright. "We were just about to leave anyway! We don't need to be escorted by the likes of you."

Sarada didn't know why she was annoyed of Boruto's grandmother but maybe it had to do with her temper.

Boruto coughed for her attention and she looked at him, mouthing a small 'what?'

He gave her a meaningful look and he said, "we're sorry. We won't come up here again."

Before anyone else could say anything else, Boruto pulled Sarada to the stairs.

Boruto gripped Sarada's wrist tightly and he murmured. "I think we're back at the time that my gran and gramps aren't dating out yet. Pops said gran was still new to being a bijuu when she got kidnapped and gramps saved her."

Sarada smiled a bit. "That sounds really sweet."

"Yeah, well it looks like gramps had a crush on gran for a long time already and gran didn't know until he rescued her all by himself."

Sarada wondered about her own grandparents. Then she figured she didn't know about her own parents' story and waved off the idea. But then again, she agreed to travel to the past to see why things were as they were.

As they reached the bottom of the stairs, Sarada let her fist fly towards the back of Boruto’s head which the boy barely managed to duck from. He scowled at her but didn’t say anything. Wise of him. So he had some brain cells left after all.

“You have got a lot of explaining to do.”

* * *

_“You knew it wasn’t gonna be stable?!”_

 “Well, no one’s _actually_ managed to successfully time travel before and tell the tale!” He grunted without actually sounding any bit sorry. He scratched his stomach and laid further down on the ground. He closed his eyes and huffed. “But it clearly said that the user can go back to the past connected to his future so I thought that was good enough!”

 _“Good enough?!”_ Sarada choked. “Tell me there’s a way to get back because I won’t hesitate to kill you if there isn’t.”

He opened one eye at her and rested his head behind his hands, eyes closed once more. He was _really_ asking for it, huh?

Uzumaki Boruto yawned and patted his stomach listlessly. “Well, _duh_.”

A sound of a kunai unsheathing made him tsk.

“There’s a _way_ to go back,” he grumbled. This girl was just so annoying. “We’re just gonna need help.”

A beat of silence and then murderous intent started to fill the area and even that gave him pause, making a slight shiver run down his spine.

In a dangerous tone, Sarada whispered, “what do you mean by _‘help’_ exactly, Boruto?”

Boruto shot up to his feet with hands in front of him, a sign of surrender. “We just need more chakra, more than we can ever produce at our age, to help us with the boost! I figured we could ask my old man when it comes down to it.”

* * *

Boruto was nursing a bump in his head as Sarada took inventory of what they had brought with them. They had money, that was good. Good thing she insisted on packing before they left.

 “Man, you’re such a pain,” Boruto murmured.

 Sarada gave no reply and Boruto tucked his hands in his pockets.

 He sighed and turned away. “I’m gonna go scout—“

 “Don’t you dare leave me alone here, you idiot!”

 “What?” He smirked as he turned sideways towards his classmate. “Scared? Can’t protect yourself out in these woods? Can’t handle—“

 A kunai zipped past his face and into the tree and Boruto glowered at her.

 “That could have hit me, you—“

 A blur of red popped out from behind the bushes and Sarada and Boruto had kunais out but they didn’t move as they saw Boruto’s grandmother with a seal formed with both hands. They weren’t gonna stand a chance against a bijuu.

Sarada cursed Boruto inwardly. He was nothing but trouble!

“I _knew_ you weren’t civilians!” Kushina shouted at them. “Who are you?! Spies?! Kidnappers?! Wherever you’re from, you’re definitely not Konoha people! Trespassers!”


	4. Boruto

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _Well, shit._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: So it's been a while since I updated. And it's mostly due to the fact that I'm working more hours nowadays and also because of the new releases making things go haywire in my plots. Anyway, just so everyone's on the same page, I started writing this after the first chapter release of Gaiden and mainly had little background to work with their characters. A lovely commenter named **denkitenshi12** had pointed out I was successful on that point. (that felt really nice to hear, thanks) However with the end of Gaiden and the release of those trailers (and movie) (kyaa~! BoruSara!  <3 ), there will be some adjustments made starting from this chapter onward. If I find the time, I might go and edit the first three but that will be unlikely. I hope you guys understand and continue to support this story. I'll try to make the changes as minimal as possible and make it sort of like a character development instead. I also would like to apologize for the fact that I update so slowly. Like I said, work. And stuff. But thank you for your love guys!

Just because he pretended like he had everything under control didn't mean that he did. (Case in point, screaming as he fell to an untimely death, having a mini-cardiac arrest when he realized they went back too far in time and blanking when confronted by his grandparents.)

He was a prodigy, sure. He was the son of the war hero, the Hokage and descended from one of the greatest shinobi clans the world had seen and his mother was _badass_. But there was no escaping the fact that he was barely twelve-years-old, for crying out loud. He wasn't as smart as everyone thought he was. His normal demeanor was probably his mom's fault. He did spend more time with _Okaasan_ than he did with his old man. Some qualities were definitely going to stick. So when he met his grandparents and one of them wanted to get rid of them so they can have their  _more than obvious_  alone time (Kushina had the same look Naruto had given off when he caught his parents kissing early morning when he’d barged in, asking his mother what was taking breakfast too long), he immediately apologized and dragged his classmate away.

While said teammate’s fist connecting to his skull was still a recognizable sting, his mother's lessons kept the pain at bay. From what little stories he could remember, his grandmother's temper was nothing short of legendary. Kakashi- _ojiisan_ had said he should be so lucky because she wouldn’t have let his pranks go by without punishment like his parents did most of the time. Said grandmother accusing them as trespassers made sure that she wouldn't hold back. Scattered wits or not, facing certain death through matricide was kind of like a bucket of cold water in the face for the young Uzumaki.

_“Don't fight someone you can't win from, Boruto.”_   _Okaasan_ 's words floated in his mind. It was when Hanabi- _obaachan_ had cleanly beat him thrice in a row during training. He had been beat up, bloody and bruised. But he wouldn’t let anybody stop him from trying again. His mother healed him perfectly afterwards, but she lectured him as they walked home from the compound. He didn’t look at her, ashamed of his failure. He kept eyes on his sister instead. Himawari was tailing them as the six year old felt the need to greet every stray cat and dog that came their way. “ _To live isn't cowardice. It's a small victory to see the sun shine another day. You'll become stronger one day. But even then, you must choose your battles. Life isn't something you just throw away_ _in the face of the enemy. Remember, you’re always fighting to live or save somebody else.”_

Sure his mom must've meant an enemy. The worst thing Uzumaki Kushina could do was turn them over to the ANBU but then that'd be the end of them. He couldn't risk getting them captured now. Sarada wouldn't let him hear the end of it until his head had been chopped off or something. She was that annoying. She’d probably haunt him in the afterlife about it too.

"We aren't! We swear!" Sarada dropped her kunai and held up her hands in a gesture of surrender. Her eyes held little panic in them. She was scared. Boruto couldn’t blame her. E’d be soiling his own pants if his grandmother started using Kurama’s chakra with her attacks. "Let me explain! Please!"

There was little to no actual choice. He followed suit, kunai dropping with a _clang_ but clasped his hands in front of his grandmother and kneeled down. He closed his eyes. They needed help anyway. _Here goes nothing._

_"Sobo!"_  He pleaded out loud.  _"Don't harm us please!"_

Everything was still and there was a few seconds of silence. A chill ran up his spine and he opened one bright eye.

From his periphery, Sarada's mouth had hung open and she looked almost deathly pale. Looking at the young jinchuuriki made it clear as to why.

He fell back on his bottom as Kushina stepped forward, jutsu forgotten but knuckles white as they girpped a deadly sharp kunai. Her face was shrouded in darkness but her hair flew about, weirdly like  _Kurama_ 's tails. If he looked closely, he imagined he could see the same aura surrounding her. He stumbled back, dragging himself to the dirt. The wise thing to do was to escape. But that went out the window. At least he hasn’t started shitting his pants yet.

Kushina's eyelid twitched and her eye twinkled a wicked glint, filled with a promise of a not so easy death as he would have with the ANBU execution image that he had painted earlier and Boruto felt like his soul was just about ready to leave his body.

" ** _What_** did you  _ **call**_  me, you little  _ **twerp**_?" Her tone was cold and deadly serious. One mistake and Boruto knew it would be the end of him. A part of his mind was already saying goodbye to Himawari whilst begging for her not to start poking around under his bed. It was like that time when Himawari first activated her Byakuugan all over again. Why are women so damn scary?

"I... I..." When did words suddenly start failing him?

"You have the guts to call  _ **me**_  your  _ **grandma**_?" Her voice trembled as she stopped right in front of Boruto and the boy swears that he will never encounter anyone as scary as Uzumaki Kushina. She smiled a horribly terrifying smile and took another step towards him, cracking her knuckles together as she held a kunai in one hand. "Why you have just the right amount of courage to die early!"

She raised her kunai and Boruto uttered his prayers to anyone who was listening above.

Inojin's mom was right. You should never anger women. Especially kunoichi. If he lived by some miracle he would never ever cross any bijuu-infused kunoichi for as long as he lived. And he was going to start celebrating a long life of bachelorhood with Shikadai as the Nara had always proclaimed.

"Prepare to die, _dattebane_!"

Boruto raised his arms to shield himself, refusing to scream out lest it be is final moment but he heard a clang and opened his eyes once more. Sarada had pounced in, and the two kunai clashed against each other hard enough for sparks to appear, though the fear in her eyes remained, her hold was steady if not strained. Boruto knew she wasn’t going to attack, just defend. They couldn't risk angering grandm- er, Kushina some more.

"Listen, please!" Sarada plead but it fell on deaf ears. She understood, though. She would probably react the same way.

Kushina frowned, pushing forward, her kunai grinding angrily against Sarada’s. " _Who are you?_ "

"We're Konoha nin!" Sarada cried out, trying to maintain a defensive state when her instincts screamed at her to fight, protect herself and rise to the challenge. The situation was still salvageable if she could just think for two seconds! These Uzumakis just don’t stop to think of their actions don’t they, she thought exasperatedly. "W-we swear! We just haven't graduated yet! We didn’t want to get in trouble for hanging around the Monument without any adult!"

Kushina’s face became fiercer. She wasn’t buying the lie and Sarada knew they were in deep shit.

"I've asked around! Nobody knows you!"

Sarada made an attempt to push Kushina off but the young bijuu was stronger and she just had enough time to grab for Boruto’s arm and jump away before Kushina could swipe at them once more.

There was no escaping her. They can’t have her call for reinforcements. It’ll be too late to explain by then. They would hang them if they hear the words time and travel together.

"We're from the future!" Boruto desperately called out as they landed a few feet away. Sarada's grip on his arm tightened but she didn't tell him off. They didn't have any real choice now, did they? But damn this baka!

Kushina's scathing glare at them faltered for a moment before they turned angry again. "Like  _ **hell**_  you're from the future!"

She made a turn to them, threw stars that Sarada managed to block as Kushina flew forward with speed neither of them had mastered yet.

_**"My name's Uzumaki Boruto and I'm your only grandson with the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato! I swear dattebasa!"** _

The air rushed forward as Kushina halted.

Sarada's sweat poured as she watched the disbelief and shock run over Kushina's eyes. The Uzumaki survivor’s kunai was digging against her throat and her other hand had grabbed Sarada’s hair to still her movement. Behind her, Boruto kept still hands ridiculously fisted around Sarada’s short dress, Sarada dropped her kunai once more and kept a warning hold to the boy.

"M-Minato?"

If Sarada hadn't seen Hinata- _obaasan_ blush before during family dinners that her own mom insisted she attend so that she and Boruto would get along, she'd say Boruto's grandmother won the Tomato Face Award.

"I... I... have a... b-baby with… M-Minato?!"

Now that Boruto thinks about that, it was not only awkward (Kushina was probably only thirteen or fourteen at this point) but also disgusting. But nonetheless, he mutters, "Y-yeah."

It takes a few moments before Kushina swallows down her embarrassment and with red cheeks, half-heartedly shoves her kunai closer, making Sarada fall over out of balance as she tries to avoid the kunai dig on her throat and cause her a bloody and untimely death. Boruto catches her and they land on the ground as Kushina stands over them, her grip on the kunai was loose and shaky. They could probably incapacitate her and run for it now but somehow they both knew that they shouldn’t.

"Y-you're lying!" Kushina stammered. Her cheeks were as red as her hair again and her hands trembled. Sarada guesses she would be the same way if she found out her new boyfriend was actually your future husband and your grandson appeared out of nowhere.

"No, it's true…" Sarada manages to get out quietly, as if someone might overhear them. They’ve managed to calm her somewhat. They probably shouldn’t say more. The consequences could be dire. Probably. But she finds herself talking more. "M-Minata-sama becomes the Yondaime Hokage and you have one son! The Nanadaime Hokage!"

"I… N-no... _F-Fourth?_ _S-Seventh?_ "

"That's probably too much, Sarada..." Boruto whispers as they watch Kushina fall on her knees with blank and dazed eyes.

* * *

Kushina suspiciously ushered the two younger kids into her apartment. If they weren't who they claim to be and tried to do anything remotely funny, they'd find themselves trapped in here until authorities came to investigate. Seals were an Uzumaki specialty and Kushina was as good as they came even at her age. Learning to get along with the monster living in her wasn’t half bad for her, either. She had Minato to thank for on that one. She found warmth creeping up on her cheeks but shook her head wildly. It wasn’t the time to think of Minata and her… having… uhhh…

Sarada turned to look at Kushina and almost raised her brow.

Kushina glared and tried to control herself.

Sarada looked away respectfully and continued removing her sandals after Boruto.

“Well, make yourselves at home or whatever…” Kushina murmured as she locked the door behind her.

She turned watched as her supposed grandson sat himself beside the other girl in the small couch in her living room, looking interested and curious. She looked at the boy and he met her eyes and she looked away. The blue eyes certainly did look like Minato’s. But that really doesn’t prove anything. And where would those _whiskers_ come from? No one from Uzushio had those. Minato’s own parents were mere civilians with no actual special traits other than their bright blue eyes.

She found herself frowning at the thought of her former Village and placed a hand over her stomach.

Now’s not the time, she told herself again coldly.

"You want anything?" She asked as casually as possible and she stepped out of her sandals, placing them in the corner, away from theirs.

"Water, please," the two answered in unison. The boy proclaiming to be her grandson added, “and some food, please!”

She saw the dark haired girl shoot him a look but he didn’t notice. Kushina nodded absently as she left. Normally she would have put her kunai holster out of the way but today, she left it and her pouch of supplies on her. She wasn’t lowering her guard down.

Once she turned to the kitchen, Boruto received a hard elbow at the side from Sarada.

He scowled at her and clenched his fist. What the hell? That’s the second time today that she thinks she can lay a hand on him! She’s going too far. And they _did_ need food!

Sarada wasn’t having none of it. "Why'd you tell her?! You're such a  _baka_!"

Oh. So that’s what it was. Shouldn’t it have been obvious? "We didn't have a choice! She was gonna kill us! Do you wanna die here? I plan on going back home, thank you very much."

"She wouldn’t have killed us! It was your fault! Because you called her grandma!" Sarada pointed out scornfully. " Do you ever use that brain of yours? Or is that head perpetually empty? You can't go telling people in the past about the future! Didn't you listen to Shino-sensei? Time traveling is forbidden! Change one thing and you can change the whole future! You might not be born! I shouldn’t have come with you! You’re nothing but trouble!"

"One, you agreed. Two, you’re here now so deal with it. Three, that's not going to happen. Four, you’re the one with the large forehead!"

Sarada bit her retort at the tip of her tongue. They didn’t have time to argue about their physical appearances. They had a real problem at hand. She should tell him off before they get into any more trouble. At this rate, he was digging their own graves!

"And what makes you think so?" She had crossed her arms now in an attempt to control herself from hitting him once more.

"Because my grandmom's met me! She'll want to make sure I  _happen_! If it means having to pound it into my Dad's head that he has to make me! She likes me already, I can tell!" He rubbed the end of his nose haughtily and rested his hands on his hips in a way that ticked Sarada off.

Sarada gave him a look that probably meant he was an idiot but he waved it dismissively.

"I think she'll make sure she doesn't get a grandson as annoying as you are," Sarada whispered exasperatedly. "You're such a handful! I don’t know how _Obaachan_ can stand you! Thank Kami Himawari’s such an Angel! No wonder the Hokage doesn’t have the time to deal with you and your immaturity!”

She could insult him all she want. She could punch him for all he cared. But that was beyond below the belt for Naruto’s firstborn.

Boruto stood up and glared at her. “My Dad loves me! And at least I know _where_ he is! You don’t even know your Dad! He’s never been around! Maybe he’s the one who can’t deal with  _you_!”

Sarada got up and pushed him away with no actual force behind it, just raw hurt and anger. Behind those chakra-infused blows she made, she was just a little girl. A little girl who didn’t know her father, forced to join the Academy, become a ninja because she was the children of both, the last Uchiha (which to her was just a name she didn’t even know why was revered and _feared_ as her mother would never say) and because she did as she was told. She didn’t have any actual answer for that, for his insult.

Mom says he’s on a mission. But a mission for _twelve years_? Is that even for real? Mom says he’s away because he loved them so much that he couldn’t bear to see them get hurt. But how can she even believe that? Uchiha Sasuke was nothing but a picture to her. A name and legend that she couldn’t really believe. Because how can you believe something you haven’t seen? Those things were called myths. Stories. Something that isn’t real. How can you trust something when everything has been shrouded in secrets, riddled answers and basically a woman who refused to tell her anything more? No one would tell her _anything_ and even the History books doesn’t tell her much. He was a Hero, _Okaasan_ said proudly. Then where is he in her textbooks? He was never _anywhere_.

Boruto stumbled from the push but regained his footing. Just because she was the top student at everything didn’t mean she didn’t have a weakness. Didn’t mean she knew everything. Didn’t mean she was the best. They were even in taijutsu and if she wanted a real fight now, he’d give it. What does she know about his Dad anyway? What did she know about having a father? Pops just didn’t have the time anymore. That’s all… Pops was just busy. That’s’ more than he can say for _her_ Dad. Pops was _Hokage_. Even though the position was as special and hard as he said it was, Boruto knew that it was no excuse. Maybe he just wanted to rile Sarada up as his _excuse_. It was frustrating and sad and maddening. What’s work compared to losing your family in the process?

He wasn’t there for his last birthday or when Himawari learned her first word. He wasn’t there when Himawari climbed on his bed because the storm was scary and she needed a hug. He wasn’t there when Mom was teaching him the Gentle Fist and he succeeded by the end of the day and Grandpop called him a natural. He wasn’t there when he came home with a test finally higher than Sarada’s. He wasn’t ever home early enough to play with him and Himawari anymore even if they waited for as long as they could but… he existed. He was real. He just needed to catch his attention like he did with the Hokage monument. But he was still their father. Just because he was Hokage doesn’t mean he can’t have time for his real family! Doesn’t mean he didn’t care!

He looked up to Sarada and prepared for a real fight. Not any of that sparring bull Shino-sensei kept them doing.

She was strong and he respected that. It was one of the few things he liked about her. ( _Not that he_ ** _liked_** _her or anything stupid like that!_ ) So when he was met with teary eyes, he knew, like he knew a punch at the gut that he’d gone too far.

“S-Sarada, I…”

Kushina chose this moment to appear with a tray bearing tea, water and some snacks. “What’s going on here? Don’t go breaking anything now. These are all from my home country. Can’t replace anything here anymore.”

She placed the tray in the coffee table in front of them and pointed them both to sit down. Hesitantly, Boruto and Sarada obliged.

“Eat up.”

The two thanked her but made no move to touch the food. Their hands were both fisted at their laps.

Fine. Kushina didn’t care if they dropped dead out of exhaustion. She couldn’t let herself be too attached. If what they said is real, they were basically criminals and endangering the whole future. If they were lying…

She didn’t bother sitting and stood over them with her own arms folded over each other.

“What are your names?” She asked.

The two reluctantly looked at each other and then back to their hands.

Boruto grunts, “I’m Uzumaki Boruto. That’s Uchiha Sarada.”

“Uzumaki? Uchiha?”

“Dad kept your name.” Boruto said simply.

For a moment, Kushina felt concern. Did her son not want his father’s name? Was it because Minato was a civilian? They said her son would be Hokage. Was it political? But then again, they said Minato was going to be the _Fourth_. He should carry the Namikaze name proudly, then.

And then Kushina felt fear. Why _Seventh_? What happened to the Fifth and Sixth? The Fourth?

A Hokage only retires with old age or… death.

The fear in Kushina tripled as she noticed how young they were. Probably still in the Academy like the girl said earlier. Shinobi lifespan wasn’t the longest and most have children in their early twenties. It wasn’t a fad, it just happened. With death at their door any moment, each day was precious. Marriage, especially in clans, was always fast. Her own parents married at twenty two and had her less than a year later.

Boruto looked at her and coughed. “It’s best we not tell you much.”

Spies would say that. But if they weren’t lying, Kushina couldn’t really push them for more information. Her head was starting to ache so she reached down and started muching on an onigiri.

“Then tell me why you are here.”

Sarada growls under her breath and murmurs, “Because he’s a troublemaker.”

She raises her brow and Boruto sticks his tongue out at her before dejectedly slumping on her couch. He doesn’t meet her eyes but she could see sadness there.

“We were actually going to meet _Otousan_.” He says quietly and his brows meet. “But someone probably forgot the formula and measurements as previously discussed and got us thrown back further!”

Sarada rounded on him and her face was a bad shade of puce. Kushina could see the girl holding herself from punching the young boy. She’d done it so many times, she knew by glance how far she could punch this boy across the Village. She almost smirked. “You’re blaming _me_ for this?! Who’s _clone_ was it and who’s _guardian_ was it that ruined the jutsu?! We wouldn’t be in this mess if you stopped being such a brat all the time!”

“ _I’m_ the brat?!” The boy laughed a sarcastic laugh and pointed a finger at the girl. “You’re the one who’s walking with a stick shoved up her ass all the time!”

“ _Language_ ,” Kushina reminded. No grandson of her was talking that way in front of her. Even if he wasn’t, undergraduates aren’t considered adults until they officially become genin. They were still young. Though it did felt a bit hypocritical given how colorful her own language was back then before she graduated. No thanks to those _stupid_ boys who teased her.

Sarada raised her fist and Kushina caught it.

Kushina sighed tersely. Looks like she got landed with two hotheaded hormonal prepubescent tweens with issues. Never a good combination. Mikoto, her hopeless romantic best friend, would call it _sexual tension_. But these two were way too young for that so Kushina told them, “Not in my house, you two.”

Sarada crossed her arms as she turned away from both Uzumaki.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that it was pretty boring, but I wanted to input the drama, since this is set around Gaiden. Please, if you feel like adding your thoughts, don't hesitate to comment below!


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